The Faces-of-Our-Future Program Recognizes Stephen Hardy at Samuel Heath

The DPHA Faces-of-Our-Future Program recognizes up-and-coming influencers in the decorative plumbing and hardware business. This program will profile DPHA members with 10 or less years of experience. Each month from June through October 2018, members will be inducted into the Faces-of-Our-Future Club, and their stories will be featured in DPHA's weekly newsletter, Connections. This week we recognize Stephen Hardy, USA National Sales Manager at Samuel Heath and based in California.

 

Stephen joined Samuel Heath about 10 years ago, and spent his first 6 months training extensively in both sides of the company (plumbing and hardware). Sent to the US to manage American accounts, Stephen recognized right away that relationships were key to his success, and subsequently spent the better part of his first year at Samuel Heath concentrating on getting to know DPHA member showrooms and other key accounts. According to one of Stephen's nominators, "The last year or so, Stephen has shifted his focus to brand recognition by calling on the architects and designers.  Educating the specifiers in the community has brought Samuel Heath to the forefront.  Since bringing Stephen to the US, Samuel Heath has seen steady and sustainable growth.  Communication, networking and education are DPHA philosophies that Stepehn has embraced."  

  

Connections: How long have you been in the DPH industry?

Stephen: 10 years. Looks like I just made the cut! 

Connections: What has surprised you about the industry?

Stephen: To echo others, when I first came into the industry I was surprised at how inter-connected it is. It really is like a family environment, especially within DPHA and that's nice to be a part of. I have come to learn, it's also a very active and significant industry; as an outsider not being in the mix, you would have no idea of its size and significance and how important all parties are to completing fantastic interior projects across the country. The level of professionalism is also something that always resonates with me. Whether it's a quick visit to a showroom to check in, a presentation to an architect or designer's office or a showroom PK, you always have everyone's full attention and people are there to learn, but more importantly, there is a willingness to want to be better, through increased knowledge about a particular brand.  

Connections: What is the biggest challenge you have faced in our industry?

Stephen: When I first started with Samuel Heath, it was 2008, I was a young Englishman sent out to the United States to sell a luxury product. Of course, back then it was the beginning of the recession years and naturally things were tense. Here I was, trying to learn a new job and also sell luxury products to our dealers who were adapting their businesses to survive in very difficult conditions. The combination of being new to the job and the industry and facing such economic headwinds created big challenges, but it also helped me to grow considerably. When you have a great company behind you that has been through several recessions in their history, the mindset and approach to business changes and I quickly adapted to deal with these tough times. One thing that the Heath family has always placed great emphasis on is loyalty to customers and making sure they are always looked after. Whilst others in the industry were forced to scale back on visiting showroom customers, we were fortunate to be able to maintain our visitation rates and were keen to show customers that we were there for them in both good times and in bad. Naturally, the business wasn't at the level it is now, but the important thing was that our customers felt supported and this helped me to build many long-lasting relationships with our dealer base across the US and we weathered the recession years together. 

Connections: What do you enjoy about being in this industry?

Stephen: First off, I really enjoy working for a company with so much history and heritage. I have become very passionate in my role over the years and a lot of that has to do with the quality of products we produce and the company behind me. This passion is also fueled significantly by how receptive our showroom customers are to us and how passionate they are about the product collections we manufacture. Second, I am a person who thrives off building relationships and after visiting dealers across the county for 10 years, I have built some fantastic relationships with many of our customers becoming close friends. We are now at a point where we are really starting to drive business to our showroom dealers through work on the ground with the specifiers (designers and architects). Our US team is making great strides in this area and this keeps things very enjoyable as the role we now perform is very varied. A visit to a showroom can be so much different than a visit to a designer's office, but the ultimate goal for both is to drive business and nothing pleases me more than helping to create a specification and then it showing up on a sales person's desk at one of our dealers. This brings me great satisfaction, as it shows the process working and it shows our loyal customer base that we are out there working to create more business after many years of them helping to push us forward in the US. 

Connections: Anything else you would like to add?

Stephen: I would like to give a quick shout out to the team behind me in the UK and US. Thank you for all your help over the years! Thank you also to my wife Jeanette for putting up with my endless travel schedule!

If you would like to nominate someone for inclusion in the Faces-of-Our-Future program, click here to download the nomination form, complete it and send your nomination to Jim Babbitt via email at jbabbitt@dpha.net or fax to 866-623-6180. It takes only a few minutes to complete a nomination form, but isn't that time well spent for recognizing someone who is making an impact on your business and/or our industry?